I’m not a fan of Debrincat, I would much rather target a cheaper option instead of him. Not a big fan of most popular targets honestly, Boeser/Garland don’t interest me, Hall feels like too much money for someone with an exciting name, and Debrincat is too rich for my blood.

Regarding how they play, someone (I think it was Alan May but could be wrong) made a good point when talking about it, since the Caps are built to grind down speedy teams instead of getting into a track race with them. This year it’s been more faulty, with DC being goaded into track races they can’t win, but in previous years (including 2018) it has resulted in decent playoff performances (I know they didn’t win in 2019 but that was a perfect example of grinding down a speedy team). I don’t say this to say Washington shouldn’t look to get faster, but I think all the panic I see on Twitter of (Washington is so slow why can’t we just be faster) doesn’t really fit with how the team has succeeded in the past, especially come playoff time. Hell, the Caps weren’t expected to do anything last year and grinded the Presidents trophy winner down for 6 games and could have won if not for a couple individuals (looking right at John “I was literally a pylon in Game 6” Carlson).

Who do you want then that could be had

Preferably, Arizona moves Schmaltz. Otherwise, I’d like to see Mantha get a genuine chance and move from there if needed.

Manthas time is done.

I like Nick.


Also fun fact. Kuzy has 1 point in all of march.

The entire team (outside of Strome, Sandin) hasn't been able to score a damn thing.

Mantha is likely gone but he was never given any chance this year, and did well last year. This "laziness" narrative is bull.

I keep forgetting we have brown ufa rights.

I couldn't agree more about Boeser/Garland and Hall. Do not want either of the three. I don't mind Debrincat, but for a certain price (price for both trade and next contract), and I will say, he has not had a great year...

I wanna target a young target that’s nhl ready or has been in the league. That can play with McMichael and can keep up with teams like the sabres. For instance a kid line. Like what the rangers have and that has proven to be very effective. How do we create this tho. That’s what I’m asking. I don’t want to give backy more minutes. I need osh to retire. Dubios Wally Debrincat would be amazing. Question is how do we get them.

Get back to back top 2 picks lol (i.e. the Rangers) or go through a rebuild (i.e. the Sabres)

I think trading Mantha, Kuzy, and having Osh retire would be huge, but the FAs this year aren't terribly exciting imo...

Has to be through a trade imo...

Who would you target

List of Targets


The Cat
Nick S

Who else

Really hard to say, and totally stinks that the UFAs this year aren't terribly intriguing...

I would say:

Debrincat
Nick S
Meier / Bratt (stretch there obviously)
Ehlers
Keller
Nylander (if TOR loses in 1st round, maybe - also a stretch)

This is a far-fetched idea and one I have not put too much thought into, but what about carter verhaeghe. Totally no idea if he would be available (probably not) or what his cost would be, but he would be a nice add (especially if we resigned Brown for a team-friendly deal - say 1x$2.5mil).

I honestly no joke would trade Wilson for Carter Ver
He owns the capitals and has exploded this year. Also has an amazing contract. Florida won’t move him tho. How do we figure out who would mesh well with a future coaching change? Past connections? Debrincat and Strome have been a dynamic duo since juniors. I think that’s the move to do. Sign brown. And assume Oshie retires.

Had the thought of Verhaeghe a couple days ago and had forgot, glad you reminded me. He's a tough sell due to Florida's position but Zito's history of... shrewd trading would make me consider it as a possibility, especially with Florida needing to figure out their cap situation in the next year or two. Florida is short on defense, I hate to say it, but maybe something around Fehervary/TvR since both have shown to be capable on the 2nd pair and Florida is set to lose Gudas this year? Unlikely as it is, it's certainly an interesting idea, maybe throw Reinhart into the mix there as well if Florida decides to sell.

Alright lets not get carried away here

I’m not joking

TEB Mailbag notes:

Decision has not yet been made around Laviolette yet. Team may lean towards bringing him back due to: Winning when healthy, not a lot of better/more successful options, not wanting to risk ending Ovi's career with a 1st time coach without experience. Only 1st time candidate that may be an exception is Jeff Halpern, due to familiarity with the Caps and being a strong tactician.

Higher ups haven't agreed with everything Laviolette does (Mantha decisions throughout the year), but they are generally please with Laviolette over his entire tenure.

Player development is not a priority, it is taking a backseat to winning. Expect that to change this season after the Caps are mathematically (or about to be mathematically) eliminated. TEB specifically mentions Johansen.

Caps hope that Backstrom will fully return to form after an offseason of training while healthy to regain a step. No easy answers there, but seems like they expected a long road to recovery and that we're still on it.

Higher-ups are unhappy with Kuzy's season, seems that perhaps the trust management had is gone. To quote TEB, "I don't know where things go from here. But something's got to give."

Caps don't believe Iorio is fully ready, and thus extended TvR, but fans shouldn't expect him to be buried in Hershey for 3 years if he shows he's ready.

Protas is probably ahead of McMichael and Lapierre in the pipeline. Doesn't sound like Washington shopped either of them, though MacLellan keeps most info close to the chest. Sounds like the team is committed to developing them but could possibly consider a trade if it was for a Strome-esque player thats young and can contribute now.

Sounds like Mantha is most likely gone. Management thought he should have had a longer leash, but aren't happy his production has gone down since being scratched.

It does sound like Johnasen has slid from being considered a prospect to a call-up, but hasn't been written off entirely yet. Tough for him since he's stuck behind so many other players though.

The Caps are likely to do something for their 50th anniversary in terms of jerseys, but likely not an overhaul of the entire jersey/logo. Something to keep an eye on, though.

Unlikely Brown returns this year but Washington is definitely interested in bringing him back.

Thank you for this. Really appreciated

Interesting to hear the recent thoughts. I kinda agree on all points...the only thing I am hesitant on is the assessment of Lavy.

I totally agree on not a lot of better/more successful options, but some of the decisions he has made has really hurt both the team and player development/confidence. I do think fans can be too negative / knit-picky on coaches (look at Trotz before 2018 - people were calling a new coach and then 2018 hits and everyone loves him). I am not in the room (obviously), but from an outsiders perspective, it does seem like Lavy has lost the room/team. The team looks (and sounds during interviews) similar as when Reirdon was head coach, which is concerning

Strome has been on fire recently.

Debrincat played with Strome both in Juniors and in Chicago.

I’m excited based on the mailbag. Ship out Mantha and Kuzy and we should have a lot of cap space to bring in top 6 wingers

Don’t want Lavi back

Yeah I agree Debrincat is our guy. Huge is probably the best guy that’s available.

How what do we do about 2c if we ship out Kuzy. Can’t be backy

Why can’t we play like this all the time

I think fans are always too hard on coaches, especially on playing young players. I think understanding among fans has greatly improved in the ability to notice and understand how underlying processes and flows -- 5v5 play vs powerplay production, expected goals, etc. -- impacts the final score and who wins. I think that all of us, even those who played at relatively high levels, still do not understand very well the level beneath that of individual skills and fits into systems. I think thats why its easy for us to see McMichael last year or Mantha this year have great xG% and complain that they aren't getting time, meanwhile coaches and players care much much more on for example how well a winger performs on the half-wall on breakouts. While I understand and generally agree with the sentiment of "play young guys who might be good instead of old guys you know aren't good" I also think that development isn't linear and that throwing in young guys who aren't ready for it can form bad long-term habits if they are constantly getting caved in -- look at guys recently like Colin White and Ty Smith, even guys like Ristolainen, Bjugstad, Jenner who have had stable NHL careers arguably were thrown into the fire way too early and suffered for it (I think you could make a very good argument for Fehervary being one of those guys!!!!). There was an interesting quote from Rasmus Andersson last week giving an actual NHL player's perspective on it too (https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/video/its-a-learning-process-for-everyone-flames-andersson-on-young-players-being-scratched/).

I would love to see guys like Protas or McMichael get looks over Sheary, Smith, NAK, etc. especially given we are not in the playoff race anymore. That being said, there's a whole lot we as fans don't really understand, and I would not criticize too much coaches whose job it is to win games -- not develop prospects -- for playing vets.

Kuzy is braindead

Right? We need to keep losing

I actually think Backy will be a more than capable 2C next season with a full pain free off-season of training. However, I’d like to bring up mcmichael or lappy for 2C and give them Tom and a scoring top 6 winger. Then we can keep backy in a sheltered 3C role